


The Brightest Light

by upinapinetree



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood purity, F/M, Jealousy, Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25447486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upinapinetree/pseuds/upinapinetree
Summary: James insists that Lily was jealous, and Lily is adamant that she was decidedly not. Later, Lily admits her fears, but find them unfounded. A love to conquer them all.
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42
Collections: harry potter





	The Brightest Light

His face lit up, far too brightly for her liking. “You’re jealous. You - Lily Evans - are jealous!”

“I am not,” Lily snapped back. “Eat your toast, it’s getting soggy.”

“You are - you -” he broke off in laughter. “You have never even given _me_ a glare as bad as that! And you sto -” 

Lily took the liberty to stuff James’s soggy toast into his shit-eating grin. “That didn’t happen. Now do you want to continue having a girlfriend, or not? I was under the impression you rather liked having a girlfriend. But all this,” she gesticulated. “I consider bullying.”

James gulped down his toast (a miracle he didn’t choke), all the while keeping his hazel eyes, bright with mirth, trained on his girlfriend, who was furiously blushing to her roots and decidedly not looking him in the eyes. He hooked his arm around her waist, bringing his face to her neck and gently nuzzling her. She was warm. Warm with embarrassment, surely, but it brought her distinctive Lily scent to the fore. Sandalwood, vanilla, and something bright. “But I love it that you’re jealous. It signals to the other girls that I’ve a formidable force around me. I’m _untouchable_ , as they say.”

“There is no ‘they’,” Lily grumbled, as James continued with breakfast cheerily, his thumb making motions over her hip all the while. “You’re getting cocky. I need to take you down a notch, make googly eyes at Filch or…” 

James picked up his other languishing toast and pointed it at her in a mock aggressive manner (it flopped down pathetically), his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “I will not be having that. Who knows what other unsuspecting lassie could be latching her eyes on to me while you do that? That’s dangerous, that is! Leaving me stranded among the amorous.” 

Lily scoffed and said, “The amorous or the ignorant? She was an overeager fourth year. I would not deign -”

“ _Liiiiilyyyyyy…_ won’t you just flatter your boyfriend some…”

“Oh,” Sirius chimed in. “Lily’s certainly flattered someone well enough last night, weren’t you there, Prongs? I could’ve sworn…” 

“Oi, that’s enough now!” 

“I _thought_ I heard the door open early this morning, see Mary, it wasn’t my imag -”

Lily shot a look at the too-pleased boy next to her. 

* * *

“I wasn’t jealous.” 

The two were lying on James’s bed, his right hand intertwined with her left, both hands running motions around the other. James looked over at her, her face steely in resolve but eyes strangely glazed. The sharp moonlight from the windows of the boys’ dormitory hit the lines of her face, illuminating the peaks and dips. The night had cast them all in a middlish purple glow. The boys lay in the other four-poster beds, the occasional sound coming from beyond the hangings. He brought their hands to his lips, and she could feel the smirk on his face. “Are we still on this?”

“I wasn’t -”

“Lils, you stomped your feet and dragged me away from that poor girl, it was Milkens that told her I had the new Quidditch gloves and Ferrina only wanted to know…”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do, and -” 

“No,” Lily’s voice became harried, and she pulled her face into James’s chest, her voice muffled. “You didn’t see what she was like before she came up to you, or… well you just don’t know how girls are like and… and - and well I know, okay, it’s not a very big school, and girls talk, and all the talk gets around and…”

He felt a dampness at his chest and felt stricken. “Lily, wha -”

“I know you. I know you are loyal, I know you are unwavering… and I know that you love me. And I you. And I want to trust in all of that. But…” 

James felt entirely taken aback by all this. Boys are bad with these things! It’s almost a universal truth, or something. “Lils, what’s wrong? Maybe I’m daft but I thought we were fine.”

“We _are_ , Merlin, we are but…” She drew a sharp intake of breath, and gave a long shudder. 

“We’re good… _more_ than good, really. I love you so much. And my days have never been so bright as when we are together. But, but I don’t know, is that all there is? People - people _say_ things and -”

“What do I care what other people say? And what do you?” He clenched their hands tighter together. “Why? What have you heard?”

She stayed silent. “Lily -”

“They say I’m a phase of yours. That you were just drawn to the chase of it all. That it’s nothing serious, and you would know better - that, that even if you were in love with me, there’d be other forces drawing you, like some subconscious obligation to keep the Potter bloodline pure, or that you wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ want the Deatheaters’ attention on your parents, and maybe your parents and your friends are just humouring you… me… that this wouldn’t last past Hogwarts…” She pressed her thumbnail into his palm. 

James let out a growl of frustration and tucked his chin more firmly over her head. “Lily - what, no - don’t you - don’t you know me even a _little_? That doesn’t -”

“I _know_ it doesn’t - I know _you…_ ”

“My parents - they love you, you’ve seen them at Christmas, they couldn’t -”

“I -” 

“They don’t give a rat’s arse about the blood purity crap and you of all -”

“James - _James_ \- I know but people…”

“If you know, then what does it matter what other people figure?”

Lily broke herself off from his embrace and lay flat on her back again. “ _Because_ we can think that we exist on our own accord - because I love you and you love me, and that’s all that matters, but we don’t exist in a vacuum, especially not in these times, and there are people around - people who do things, people who sabotage, people who talk and -”

“I don’t _care_.”

She closed her eyes shut, and covered her face with her hands. “But you _should_... How can you - how can you _not_ , it’s just - reckless, really…”

It grew silent. The room felt blacker, and heavier, and Lily didn’t dare to imagine James’s face now. 

“Lily… what are you saying? So… so what do you…” James’s exhales felt like they were weighing the whole room down. “Is this it for us?”

A breath hitched in Lily’s throat. “Wha - I - I don’t know… I don’t want that.”

“Then _what_ am I supposed to do with all you’ve said? Wha-”

“I love you. So much. And us - I see us going on, and on, indefinitely, forever, really, and I couldn’t imagine a day without you, because you’re all I know now but -”

“But _what_?”

“But there are people who say that you should be with a pureblood. That I will just muddy your line.”

She peeked at James through her fingers. It was safe - he wasn’t looking at her, but staring resolutely at the ceiling. And she couldn’t help herself - didn’t even know what was between them really - but brought herself closer to him, and wrapped her arms around his torso. And by some miracle, it felt like, he tightened his arm around her too. He sighed. 

“Lils… there’s a reason why the Potters aren’t considered one of the Sacred 28. I am a pureblood, but the Potter line hasn’t been pure in decades. And -” he broke off in a bitter laugh. “And my family is as close to blood traitors as you can get! My grandfather, he spoke out on behalf of Muggles during World War I, he’s why we’re not considered part of the Sacred 28, and my father, my mother, _me_ , _that_ legacy is in our blood, not some whacked up, half-assed theory about blood purity!” 

Lily tried to say something but he went on. “And if indeed my parents, myself, are put in danger because of this decision, us, then we die by principles we believe in. And myself by this love. And Lily - you _must_ know by now, that I rather die by the hands of Deatheaters because they consider me the worst of blood traitors, than to live a mediocre, dull, comfortable life according to the expectations of a pureblood - that by the way, is only propagated by the cowardly - and, and without you by my side, with all this love that I have for you with nothing to show it for…”

He sighed again. She glanced up at him, and saw his clenched jaw and fierce eyes. “That is the Gryffindor in me. It’s reckless but I rather die by this.” He adjusted them, so that his forehead fell upon hers. Even in the dark, his eyes were bright, and blazing. “Is that okay? Is all of that okay?” He let his eyes shut, and his lips reached for the bridge of her nose. 

“Lily. I love you. You know that much is true. And if I die, I die fighting for a chance at a world where our love would be at home. It's reckless. Yes, but reckless is what I know, and it hasn't failed me. And…” he grabs at her hand. He whispers. “Even if we don’t win, our love is … our love is okay. Our love is fine, more than fine.” 

She winds her arms around his back, her hands clutching at his shoulders. They are tense. She whispers, “Yes. Yes, all of that is okay. I love you. I love you.” He crushes his lips to hers, and she is aching for him, aching for the boy who has just promised her the world, and as his hands reach under the hem of her nightshirt, and run up her stomach carelessly before finding their way to her knickers, … even in the dark dormitory, even as the news from outside Hogwarts grow malicious and threatening, there is the brightest light between them to house their love. This dumb, stupid, teenage love. She has a feeling that this might just defeat it all - prejudice, fear, death… This feels big, urgent, and strong enough against the darkest of magic. 

And she will die by this truth. It blazes with a finality, and there is no way she isn't right about this.


End file.
